Help
by SatinChic
Summary: Oneshot Charlady. Set at the end of Season 4, and the start of Season 5. Charlotte's thoughts about Daniel leaving.


**This is set when Daniel leaves on the Zodiac in Season 4 and returns in Season 5. Charladay 3**

Charlotte Staples Lewis was not someone who needed help. She was certainly not someone who _asked_ for help at any rate. But Daniel Faraday seemingly couldn't leave her alone. She did like him, that was true enough, she liked the way they stuck together on the island, the way he tried to make friends with the other people, but often for her rather than himself. But she didn't need them, all she came to the island to do was find where she was born, not make friends. And if Daniel was leaving, well she certainly wasn't going to sacrifice her objective for him. She didn't need him. Well, that's what she told herself. So why was she still sitting on the beach looking out at the Zodiac and watching people get ready? This is silly, she thought to herself, and stood up, walking towards the camp.

"Charlotte!"

Oh no… It was Daniel. He ran over to her, a worried look on his face and hair sticking up in odd directions, which she wished she could brush out with her hands… No she didn't, what had got into her? She should just say it. Tell him that she's not going with him. So she does. And she sees the pain in his eyes. She could ask him to stay with her, she could tell him she needs him, needs his help to find what she's looking for… But she doesn't need help, and she doesn't need him. But he looks at her in that way – that way that makes her want to change her mind, the way that makes her think that maybe _he _needs _her_. So she tells him it's just for now.

"There is no for now, Charlotte! If you don't come with me for now, it could be forever!"

Maybe he was right… But she wasn't leaving. "Nothing's forever Daniel."

But he still couldn't leave her. So she tries to explain, tell him that she's looking for the place she was born, which of course he doesn't understand and they both laugh. She realises that he'll let her go… and then she realises this is goodbye. She can feel something tugging at her heart, and to her horror tears start to well behind her eyes. So she presses into Daniel's neck and kisses his cheek, for once letting her guard down and breathing him in, even if it's only for a second. And she feels his hand in her hair for the briefest of moments before she has to pull away or she might hold on to him forever. And then it's over.

"Goodbye Daniel."

She turns and walks away before she can see his face. Or maybe it's before he can see hers. But the further she walks the worse the pain gets in her heart and it's all she can do not to turn around and run back into Daniel's arms. But this is just stupid, she thinks, because she doesn't need anyone. So she keeps walking for a bit, back to camp, and then sits outside the tent her and Daniel had been sharing – only for convenience because there wasn't many free tents. She saw one of Daniel's ties lying on the ground and picked it up. Why a man needed a tie on a desert island baffled her. Why he had felt the need to bring two was completely beyond her.

But then Miles came over. "So the genius is gone then, huh?" He obviously didn't get the hint as Charlotte glared at him. "I must admit, I'm surprised he let you stay. He follows you round like a little lost puppy."

"Shut it Miles." Charlotte twisted the tie in her hands before dropping it and walking over to him.

"Come on Charlotte, you know he's –"

A strange humming noise and a blinding white light cut off Miles, probably a good thing, because if he'd said anymore, Charlotte would have punched him in the face.

The light became so bright it made Charlotte's head hurt, and when she could eventually open her eyes, everything was gone. The camp, the food, the tents. And to her dismay even Daniel's tie. Her heart tightened as she realised that possibly her last connection with him was gone. Then everything happened at once. People started shouting for each other, and Sawyer and Juliet came through the clearing followed by Rose and Bernard. She barely listened to what they were saying. Whatever had happened, things were different. Maybe Daniel had… Maybe he was…

Bernard's voice rang through her hollow chest. "All of it. It's gone." Dan was gone too.

"It's not gone" Charlotte's eyes lit up and the hole in her heart re-stitched itself. The voice she thought she wouldn't hear again.

"Daniel!"

She ran towards him and back into his arms, where she belonged.

No, Charlotte Staples Lewis was not someone who needed help. But she needed him.

**Please Review... I'll send you invisible love...**


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